John Reese specialises in everything to do with tourism in France – villas, apartments, tours and canal boating holidays

Music Mayhem in France!

Get your diary out and mark in this date – 21 June! This is the day every year when France celebrates music of any kind, from the north to the south, the west to the east.

For the “Fete de la Musique” every year on this day France celebrates Music. I’ve been lucky enough to be in Paris for the last few years and this year I was in the south of France, in the fishing port of Villefranche sur Mer near Nice.

By mid afternoon of this day in Paris especially there are bands setting up every 100m along the streets of my neighbourhood in the Latin Quarter and St Germain. Speakers are being set up, electric cables are being rolled out, and power amplifiers are being plugged in to accommodating cafés’ and restaurants’ power supplies! By early evening the show gets under way. This is a night to have no real plans, except to put on your walking shoes and walk! Every church will be full of choirs or orchestras, which are open for anyone to visit. Every footpath, bridge or park will have a different music group. You will come across rap dancers, ballet dancers, brass ensembles, pop groups, opera singers, in fact any type of music is catered for.

But if you are in any town on this night and you don’t want to party, and have sleep planned in your hotel room, then ensure you either have double glazed windows or ear plugs, because the music will last in to the small hours. This is marvellous! I’m not the only one who enjoys this, as 100,000s of people in Paris alone fill the streets.

This year I was in the Riviera, and the selection of music was wonderful. Families eat at restaurants, children danced in the streets to the music, and the night reverberated with exciting rhythms and beats. My daughter Sarah was in Paris and I told her to get out and enjoy the evening. With her Frenchman she had decided to head to the Jussieu university along the Seine River where she was going to go salsa dancing to a band there! Sadly her report wasn’t as positive as mine. For her, she thought that the Fete de la Musique was “a pathetic excuse for a binge drinking session in Paris where many bottles were smashed, and there was glass everywhere”. Sadly even in Paris there is always an element who spoil things for others. But if you ever get the chance to be in France for 21 June, don’t miss this incredible celebration of music . If you can’t make it and you are a town planner, then I encourage you to do the same in your town – one day to celebrate Music!